The present invention relates to furnishings for offices and the like, and in particular to freestanding modular furniture arrangements for open office plans, and other similar applications.
Open office plans are well known in the art, and generally comprise large, open floor spaces that are partitioned off into individual workstations by movable panels. Such partition panels often include an electrical raceway along the bottom of the panel to provide electrical power to the various workstations. Two examples of such open office plans are disclosed in the Propst et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,495 and the Driscoll U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,755.
Partition panels in such open office plans are typically configured to receive hang-on furniture units, such as worksurfaces, overhead cabinets, shelves, etc., so that the panels become an integral part of the workstation furnishings. One example of such a partition panel arrangement is disclosed in the Breiner U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,972.
The above-noted partition panels and hang-on furniture arrangements are usually known in the office furniture industry as "systems furniture." Such systems furniture arrangements have some inherent restrictions in versatility, since each workstation must necessarily include certain types of partition panels in order to support the hang-on furniture units. Furthermore, the hang-on furniture units can generally be assembled only in a rather limited number of different arrangements.
The present invention provides a unique alternative arrangement for dividing and partitioning off open office plans by providing a plurality of individual, freestanding furniture units, each of which is independently supported on the floor of the open office. The furniture units have a novel modular construction which permits them to be individually arranged and combined in numerous configurations to create a selected number of distinct workstations, without requiring a separate partition panel system. Hence, the modular furniture arrangement is extremely versatile and capable of providing privacy areas for the worker, yet is not tied to a specific partition panel system. A unique accessory mounting arrangement permits each worker to personalize his or her own workstation in a manner that locates the accessories at a convenient position, without cluttering the top of the worksurface. An L-shaped intermediate leg is available to support the worksurface in a cantilevered fashion to facilitate unfettered task chair movement along the forward edge of the worksurface.